Ship&#39;s lifeboat davit



April 22, 1958 H. G. TAYLOR 7 2,831,204

SHIPS LIFEBOAT DAVIT' Filed Oct. 18, 1956 'g n nventor M HAA,

Attorneys srnrs rn nnoar nnvrr Humphrey George Taylor, deceased, late of Wolverhampton, England, by Harry R. Poweil, Stourbridge, and Thomas H. Wolverson, Wolverhampton, England, administrators Application October 18, 1956, Serial No. 616,832

Claims priorit application Great Britain @ctober 18, 1955 2 Claims. (Cl. 9-38) This invention relates to ships lifeboat d-avits and has for its primary object the provision of a new or improved construction and arrangement of davit for launching a ships lifeboat from a stowage position between decks.

in a ships lifeboat davit according to the present invention, each of the davit arms, from the outboard ends of which the lifeboat is suspended, has its inboard end pivotally connected to a carriage which is underslung from wheels or rollers engaging a normally substantially horizontal track which is straight and is fixed to the underside of the upper of the two decks, and the inner end of the davit arm is connected through gearing with a spur pinion mounted on the carriage and meshing with a fixed rack extending longitudinally of the track.

The arrangement is such that as the davit arms are al; lowed to swing down under their own weight and that of the suspended boat, by paying-out the usual control ropes from a winch, the geared connections of said arms with their respective pinions rotate the latter and cause them through their engagement with the toothed racks, to travel the carriages in an outboard direction along the horizontal straight tracks to positions in which the suspended lifeboat is clear of the ships side and can be lowered into the water by paying-out the usual falls. Conversely, raising of the davit arms will cause their carriages to he travelled inboard along their tracks to bring the davit arms to inboard stowed positions below the upper deck.

The invention will now be described with reference to the embodiment shown, in end elevation, in the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing, each davit arm it) has its in- 2,831,204 Patented Apr. 22, 1958 ice train of gears 20, 21, 22, 23 to a toothed pinion 24 which is mounted on the carriage 12 and is in constant mesh with a toothed rack 25 fixed to and extending longitudinally of the track 15. The ratio of the gearing is such that a predetermined angular movement of the davit arm 10 causes the carriage 12 to travel along the track 15 from the extreme inboard position shown in full lines to the extreme outboard position shown in chain lines, or vice versa, said extreme positions being determined by stops 26, 27 fixed in the ends of the track 15.

The arrangement is such that as the davit arms 10 are allowed to swing down under their own weight and that of the suspended lifeboat 18, by paying out the usual control ropes 28 from a win-ch (not shown), the geared con-* nections 20, 21, 22, 23 of said arms 10 with their respective pinions 24 rotate the latter and cause them, through their engagement with the toothed racks 25, to travel the carriages 12 in the outboard direction along the tracks 15 until arrested by outboard stops 26, in which extreme outboard position the suspended lifeboat 18 will be clear of the ships side and can be lowered away by paying out the usual falls 29. Conversely, raising of the davit arms 10 will cause their carriages 12 to he travelled inboard along their tracks 15 to bring the davit arms 10 to the inboard stowed positions below the upper deck 16.

Having fully described the invention, what is claimed and desired to secure. by Letters Patent is:

1. A davit for launching a ships lifeboat from a stowage position between decks, comprising a normally substantially horizontal track fixed to the underside of the upper of the decks, a carriage suspended from said track and having rollers engaging the track, a davit arm having its inboard end pivotally connected to said carriage, a fixed rack extending longitudinally of the track, a spur pinion mounted on the carriage and meshing with said rack, and gearing connecting the inner end of the davit arm with said spur pinion.

2. A davit as set forth in claim 1, wherein the gearing includes a toothed quadrant on the inner end of the davit arm connected through a train of spur gears with the spur pinion, the ratio of the gearing being such that a predetermined angular movement of the davit arm will travel the carriage along the track from one extreme position to another, and carriage limiting stops at OPP'O'. site ends of the track for determining said positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,776,959 Taylor Sept. 30, 1930 2,041,817 Carr May 26, 1936 2,141,452 Schat Dec. 27, 1938 2,667,649 Elling Feb. 2, 1954 

